Friockheim, Angus
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Friockheim is a village in Angus, Scotland dating from 1848.
History
In the middle of the magical diamond shaped parallelogram formed by the Angus burghs of Brechin, Montrose, Arbroath and Forfar lies the triangular village of Friockheim.
The birth of the village took place soon after 1814 when Thomas Gardyne of Middleton succeeded his brother as the laird of the lands of Friock and feud them to Mr John Andson, of Arbroath, who built a flax spinning mill and as proprietor-in-feu attracted many textile workers to come and settle on easy terms in what was at first known as Friock feus.
There seems no doubt that Mr Andson who had contracted his own name from the more familiar Anderson was a strong believer in original nomenclature. It was he who, having travelled to Germany, the home of the type of coarse linen called Osnaburghs, from the city of Osnabruck, which he was now manufacturing in this country, brought in the “heim” part of the name. He had to obtain the sanction of Thomas Gardyne as superior and together they agreed on the famous advertisement, which is virtually Friockheim’s foundation charter.
Printed in Arbroath and dated May 22, 1824 this read:
- "The Spinning Mill and Village of Friock, of which Mr Gardyne of Middleton is the Superior, and Mr John Andson, Proprietor holding in feu, hitherto called 'Friock Feus' from this date henceforward is to be named “FRIOCKHEIM” and of which change of designation this on the part of Mr Gardyne and Mr Andson is notice unto all whom it may concern.”
So that was that. It certainly introduced a most unusual conjunction of Gaelic and German into the place names of Angus. Friock being simply a derivative from the Gaelic fraoch (heather) and from the German heim (home), i.e. Heather Home. Its pronunciation causes no difficulty to those in the know. They pronounce it 'Freecum'.
But look what has happened after over 150 years. The parish of Kirkden has disappeared. Friockheim the despised and rejected has become a cornerstone of the whole community. Mr Andson’s Mill was burnt to the ground in 1862 but other things took place.
Today the village of Friockheim has a population of over 900, not so great as it was a century ago when it stood at 1,200, but then those were the days of big families. It has two major industries, Douglas Fraser & Sons (Mfg) Ltd producing waterproof and leisure clothing, and S.G. Baker Ltd producing hessian, cotton and polypropylene sacks for agriculture and business packaging. It has a local Co-op, newsagent, chemist and post office as well as several small businesses and shops. The public park and two halls are well used. An important part of community life is the primary school and community centre, as well as our own church dated from 1835.
A great wealth of social life and voluntary effort helps to create a sense of community which it is hoped will benefit from the new housing programme currently in progress and so ensure that Friockheim continues to prosper into the 21st century.